immensely popular as comedians, and
both in high favour with our most illustrious and judicious Patron
of the Drama, H.R.H. the Prince of WALES. It is gratifying to learn
that, after the performance of _A Pair of Spectacles_ at Sandringham,
the Prince presented the Junior of these two Johnnies with a silver
cigar-box. In the right-hand corner of the lid is engraved a hare
looking through a pair of spectacles, and inside is a dedication to
JOHN HARE from ALBERT EDWARD. "Pretty compliment this," as Sir WILL
SOMERS, the Court Jester, might have said,--"to JOHNNY HARE from the
Hare Apparent."

* * * * *

THEIR "IBSEN-DIXIT."

A new set of Faddists has been gradually growing up, not in our midst,
but in the parts about Literature and the Drama. The object of their
cult is, one HENRIK IBSEN, a Norwegian Dramatist, (perhaps it would
be more correct to say, _the_ Norwegian Dramatist,) of whose plays
a pretty sprinkling of scribes, amateur and professional, but all of
the very highest culture, profess themselves the uncompromisingly
enthusiastic admirers. You may not know the Ibsenites or any of their
works, but in their company at least,--that is, supposing yourself so
highly privileged as to be admitted within the innermost circle of the
Inner Ibsen Brotherhood,--_not_ to know IBSEN would be proof positive
of your being in the outer darkness of ignorance, and in need, however
unworthy, of the grace of Ibsenitish enlightenment. Recruits are
wanted in the Ibsenite ranks, so as to strengthen numerically the one
party against the other; for the Ibsenitish sect has so for progressed
as to be at loggerheads amongst themselves; not indeed on any really
essential question, such as would be, for example, any doubt as to
the position of IBSEN as a Dramatist, or as to the order of merit and
precedence to be assigned to his works. No, on such matters they are
apparently at one; but in other matters they are at one another. Thus
the unity appears to be only superficial, a decent plaster hiding the
rift occasioned by one of their number having literally translated
into English IBSEN's latest Norwegian drama, of which translation the
verbal correctness is impugned by another learned Ibsenite.

Not being "a hardy Norseman," and having neither a reading nor
speaking acquaintance with the Norse language, I am unable to decide
abstruse points on which such learned doctors disagree; but not being
altogether wit